


Trials of Mom-ora

by ReaSunshine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Keith's Mother - Freeform, Klance if you squint, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Mom vs mom, MomKrolia!, Moms are the best, Mother Red vs Mother Krolia, Mother-Son Relationship, Poison, Red v Krolia, Spoilers, Team Bonding, Universe Altered-UA, errybody misses their mom, has Keith ever looked in a mirror, s5ep5:Bloodlines, twist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-03-29 10:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13925160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaSunshine/pseuds/ReaSunshine
Summary: Universe Altered-UA of Season 5 Episode 5:Bloodlines. I need some real Mother-son bonding with a dash of pain. It follows Episode 5 pretty closely so SPOILERS!Keith gets poisoned during the mission to extract Krolia and keep the super weapon out of Trugg's hands. How long can he last? And who, in the vastness of space can they find to help?





	1. The mission

**Author's Note:**

> My second fic ever~ Check out Let's Get Shifty~ Definitely don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. Enjoy!

“Krolia.” 

Her eyes traveled to the activated blade at her throat, eyes widening slightly. She raised her gun away from his face. 

“You're late. We don't have much time.” Her curt voice spoke in hushed tones. 

“I'm Keith,” Keith said as he powered down his mask and pulled down his hood. Krolia’s eyes flashed with recognition but just as quickly masked it.

“I know,” she quietly mumbled.

“What?”

“I said let's go!” Krolia turned on her heel walking swiftly away. Keith jogged to keep up. 

_____________________________________

 

“Why did Kolivan risk sending you here now?” Krolia prompted Keith.

“Because he’s heard about Renveig’s superweapon. We can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.” 

That made sense, but why send her son, this was one of the worst places for a family reunion. Of course, Keith seemed to be oblivious of that fact. “I guess Renveig’s dead since commander Trugg is attacking my base.” Krolia spoke with her back to her son; she had to stay focused on the mission. 

“Trugg is on the verge of crushing your forces. We have to destroy the superweapon now.” Keith pressed on, curious, “What is it exactly?” 

“Warlord Renveig intercepted an undocumented shipment of quintessence traveling through his territory.” Kroia explained. “He took it for his own and began experimenting with it. It’s more powerful than any quintessence we’ve received from the empire, and it has some very, unexpected effects.”

Keith was about to ask what effects, when an explosion rocked the base knocking them both off balance. First level breached. Activating second level of defense. The computer dutifully conveyed. 

“Trugg’s fleet has touched down. We’re running out of time! Come on!” Krolia yelled, nearly instinctively, grabbing his hand to pull him to the elevator, yet she managed to refrain.

_____________________________________

 

Running out of the elevator Krolia yelled to Keith “Get to that console!” More explosions rocked the base.

“What now?” Keith asked as he reached it.

“We need to simultaneously enter this code-” before they could do anything the elevator doors blew open and smoke billowed into the room. Robots marched in, weapons drawn. 

Keith launched himself at them. Yet, not headlong as he would have done not long ago. Instead he slid on his knees, slicing at the legs of the first bot. He sliced and smashed two centuries then stabbed the third in the chest. 

His sword got stuck and the bot grabbed him bodily, and threw him across the room. He hit the metal wall with a solid thunk and sank to the floor, dazed.

Krolia stepped in, taking out the guards with her laser gun. Giving only a moment's glance at her fallen son then leaping back into battle. She downed the one with the sword still protruding from its chest. She swept up the blade into her hand as she ran to attack more robots. Still activated the weapon sliced apart another guard. 

She turned, glimpsed a gun and narrowly dodged a laserbeam. The rage on her face in that instant was palpable. 

These guards just kept coming out of nowhere! They kept firing and she, dodging. Launching the blade, it struck a century in the face. She shot two more and cut apart another. The whirring of multiple weapons charging stopped her destructive frenzy. 

Six guards and Commander Trugg stood ready to fire. The centuries all aimed at Krolia. But her heart sank only when she saw who Trugg had, crumpled at her feet.

Keith, looking a little worse for wear, knelt with his hands bound behind his back and one of Trugg’s infamous axes at his throat. Blood trickled from his temple from where he had smashed into the wall and his violet eyes looked a bit hazy. Krolia felt a pang of guilt.

“Surrender or die.” Trugg barked. Pulling back her axe, she made Keith raise his head to avoid its razor-sharp edge.

Krolia immediately relaxed her fighting stance. She deactivated the marmorite blade and raised her arms. 

Keith perked up a bit, confusion written on his face when he realized his blade had not reverted to a dagger as Krolia had fought. 

“We can make a deal.” Krolia appeared calm externally but internally she was rending Trugg limb from limb.

“What are you doing?!” Keith leaned forward nicking his neck on the restraining blade of Trugg’s axe. 

She looked sorrowfully at Keith, “I left you once, I'll never leave you again.” 

______________

After Keith had hit the wall things seemed to move very fast. His head reeled from the blunt force trauma. The next thing he knew hands were grabbing him, restraining his arms. His head felt too heavy to lift. It was only when Trugg pulled the axe close to his jugular that he had to move. Through his drooping bangs and blood that dripped into his eye, he saw his sword in Krolia’s grasp return to dagger. Surrender, she was giving up! 

“What are you doing?!” Was she crazy they had to fight! Knowledge or death! Mistakenly Keith pulled forward heedless of the razor edge that bit his vulnerable throat.

Keith stared at her in disbelief as she spoke those heart-wrenching words: “I left you once, I'll never leave you again.” 

What? What was that supposed to mean? The edge of the axe stung like lemon in the fresh wound as he strained, Keith's mind reeled. This crazy woman was compromising the mission, for him?! Why? Who was she? Did he know her? 

His brain felt like it was swamped, full of oatmeal. Thoughts could barely slog through. After being lost in his hazy thoughts, Keith snapped out of it and tried to salvage what he could from the conversation: “…self-destruct. Once we’re airborne, I’ll give you the code.”

Obviously Trugg had begrudgingly agreed to give them a ship, as, the next thing Keith knew, his hands were cut free and Krolia was helping him up.

He put a hand to his neck, it felt hot and swollen. He pulled up the collar on his Marmora suit, hopefully protecting it from germs and whatever other microbes might be floating in space. How could such a small cut hurt so much?

_____________________________________

 

The ship powered up, glowing red on the outside. Krolia determinately kept her head facing the console. “I can’t believe you’d give them the weapon just to save me. You compromised the mission!” Keith cried.

The jog to the ship had tired Keith more than it should have, especially since he had been training with the Blade for so many months. He was tired, in pain, and angry. He shouldn’t have been captured so easily. And what gave this woman the right to hand over the super weapon just to save his lousy skin? The emotions that Krolia had shown for him were not acceptable for Blade missions, Keith knew that best. What kind of operative was she? 

“Keith,” Krolia said, turning her head toward him, “shut up and trust me.” Returning her attention to the consol she contacted Trugg. “Commander Trugg we are ready for liftoff. Are you at the weapons console?”

“Affirmative.” Keith looked on disbelievingly. He wanted to pull her away from the console or shout random numbers, anything to keep the weapon out of Trugg’s claws. But his pounding head and better judgement held him silent. 

“The code is Beta-5-2-7-4-Omega-5-4-5.” 

“Confirmed.” 

Already Keith had taken the pilot’s chair, they needed to get out of there fast. His grudge could wait.

“Get us out of here now!” Keith launched them forward.

Their ship shot off into the sky.

Mere moments later, as Keith suspected, the base began firing at them. Keith called to Krolia.“They’re locking onto us, hold on!” 

Krolia sat back, confidant in her kit’s piloting skills, she was his mother after all. 

Blood and sweat dripped down his face and into his eyes. Keith swiped them away with his arm as he dodged and weaved in the small ship, avoiding the massive purple beams of energy.

After an extremely close shave with a purple blast that nearly tore off their left side, Keith’s temper snapped. “This is why you shouldn’t have made that trade for me. We could die and you just handed that weapon over to Trugg.”

“No, Keith. I handed them over to it.” Her reply decisive if not cryptic. Skeptical but engaged in saving their necks, Keith grit his teeth and continued skirting the blasts.

Krolia was knocked forward as one of the beams hit the ship. Keith, whose skin looks paler than normal, apologized on the tail end of a curse. Krolia’s eyes narrowed. 

A few more narrow minutes and misses later the blasts just…stopped. 

Nonplussed, Keith stated the obvious, “they stopped firing at us.” 

“That’s because they’re all dead.” Krolia spoke calmly. The cut on Keith’s neck twinged, his jaw stiffened. He flew further out of range, just in case. 

_____________________________________

 

The planet was a pinprick when Keith finally stopped. The stars were fuzzier than he remembered. The flight had really taken it out of him. Head pounding and neck itching he slid the pilot’s seat back and he stood, wobbling slightly. What was wrong with him? Had he hit the wall harder than he thought?

“Your head…” Krolia gestured to the laceration from his introduction to the wall. He reached for a pouch on his hip but his hand met only air. Oh yeah. His pouches were with his regular clothes back in the castle ship. Medical attention would have to wait. He held his left hand to the gash, hoping to keep the headache and the bleeding to a minimum and gave Krolia a quick thumbs up. 

Krolia pulled the dagger from her belt,“I should give this back to you.” 

“How were you able to use it?” Keith squeezed his eyes shut, and blinked hard a few times, trying to see clearly. By some miracle his hand found the knife and took it gingerly in his right hand. 

“Because it was mine…” The pause seemed to last several minutes, if Keith had been more cognizant he would have expected the next part. As he was now, he couldn’t even sheith his marmorite blade. It weighed heavily in his hand.

“...before I gave it to your father.” The words buzzed between Keith’s ears. Krolia’s form, already blurred, tripled before his eyes. That meant- But she- 

Slurring slightly Keith spoke what his frazzled brain computed; “You're... my-”

The Marmorite blade clattered to the floor of the ship. Keith’s eyes rolled up into his head and his body fell forward. 

Krolia caught him. She thought he had passed out from shock until she adjusted him slightly and saw a deep purple mark rising up his jaw.

She pulled away the tight neck of the suit revealing the small nick he had gotten from the sword, pulsing and puffy. Nearly-black-purple veins spread from the infected site radiating out, creeping up his neck, back toward his spine, and down toward his shoulder.

“Poison!” Krolia cried. “Keith! Keith, no, stay with me!” 

Her long-lost boy’s body shook in her arms, sweat and blood coated his brow. His bangs, damp with both, clung to his forehead. Pinched face and clenched teeth betrayed how much pain he was in.

“Shit.”

Gathering him up she put him back in the pilot’s chair, his head lolling onto his right shoulder. Activating the comms Krolia called out to the receiving blade member to get Kolivan. He appeared swiftly on the screen. 

“Krolia! What is so urgent?”

“Keith- he’s been poisoned by Trugg’s blade! The ship is damaged, I’m not sure we can attain hyper speed. He’s fading fast Kolivan I don’t know that he’ll make it back to the base. Please.” She had only felt this desperate but once in her life. 

“I will contact Voltron at the Castle of Lions.” Kolivan spoke in his customary even tone, but Krolia thought she heard a slight tremor. “They can create wormholes and have more advanced equipment.”

“Please, I can’t lose him again, not now.” Tears crept into the corners of her eyes. 

“They will ensure his survival.” Kolivan’s stoic face gave a nod and the communication ended.


	2. Antidote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha. Sorry this update took so long! I was enjoying season 6 and then life got in the way. But here to commemorate the release of season 7 this week is chapter 2! woo hoo!

“Please, I can’t lose him again, not now.” Tears crept into the corners of her eyes. 

“They will ensure his survival.” Kolivan’s stoic face gave a nod and the communication ended. 

What felt like vargas later a blue wormhole appeared in front of the ship. Krolia leaned forward on the controls, shooting the ship forward as fast as it could go. 

_____________________

“If this voyage is successful the universe will finally be on the path to peace.” Allura said.

“Well, let’s find out where we’re going,” Fake ass bitc- I mean Shiro added.

“Voltron!” Kolivan’s picture popped up on the screen of the bridge. Everyone assembled turned to face him. 

“Kolivan, what is the problem?” Allura addressed the Blade leader. 

“Where’s Keith?” Lance piped up. Kolivan ignored him and continued.

“Two of my operatives just completed a mission in the Thuliaan quadrant, one is severely wounded. They will not make it back to the base. I ask that you open a wormhole and assist them.” Dread filled their stomachs at his overt neglect of Lance’s question. 

“Of course Kolivan,” the princess replied, handing the compass stone gently to Coran. “Only a slight delay,” she said calmly to Lotor and the paladins. 

_____________________________________

The ship sped from the wormhole and Pidge immediately established communication with it.

“Attention Blade of Marmora vessel,” a blurred image of the interior of the ship appeared. “We have been informed you have an injured crew member aboard-” Allura was cut off by Lance’s shouting at the, now clear, image of Krolia.

“Woah! Keith turned purple!” Krolia narrowed her eyes at the blue-clad paladin. 

“And female!” joined Hunk. They knew Keith? She spared only mere glances at the other paladins before speaking. 

“Yes, he has been poisoned and requires immediate care.” She shifted slightly aside, revealing Keith’s prone form. 

Gasps came from the paladins. “Keith!” Pidge cried. 

“Come aboard at once!” The princess commanded, “Coran, open the shuttlebay doors,”. 

______________________

It was only after Keith had been bustled into a cryopod that the team began questioning the strange, female, Galra-Keith. 

But before they could get a word out, she spoke up. 

“I am Krolia, Keith’s mother.” 

“Crayola? What the f-” Lance began.

“Crow-lee-aa” Pidge supplied.

“Wait Keith’s WHAT?!” Lance exploded.

“I knew it!” cried Pidge.

 

“Aww, so Keith can’t shapeshift to look Galra.” Hunk mourned. 

Krolia faced her son’s pod. She hated seeing him so cold and small, trapped within the icy shell, still so far from her embrace. “I do not know the extent to which he will grow to look like me.” Krolia said, shocking them all. “But he is my son and he must survive this before that.”

“Survive?” Allura questioned, “but surely he will be alright now he is in the pod?”

Krolia turned to face the princess. “I’m afraid the pod merely slowed the poison and cannot cure it fully.” She gestured to her son and they all looked at Keith’s face. 

A purple mark, rather like Krolia’s, climbed his jaw. And, looking closer they could see it slowly creeping up toward his eye. 

“I must find a cure, please, I need a sample of his blood and use of your laboratory facilities.” 

“Of course” Pidge said, “I’ll help you-”

“Wait.” the princess’ dark tone froze them all. “We cannot allow this strange Galra access to dangerous chemicals! For all we know she’s the one who poisoned him!” 

“Allura,” Lotor interjected, “I believe saving the life of your former paladin is more important. She seems to want to help. Besides I’m sure she will not be there alone.” 

Allura pondered these words and spoke, “No,” her face hardened, “you're right, she is his mother after all. I am sorry, old prejudices die hard. Coran and Shiro please accompany Krolia and Pidge and assist in finding a cure for Keith. Hunk, Lance watch over Keith, we need to know how fast the poison is progressing. I will contact Kolivan. Lotor, I’m afraid we’ll have to put this quest on hold-”

“Fear not Princess, it is quite alright I should be getting back to reigning in my estranged empire.” At that he turned on his heel and headed toward his ship. 

After opening the pod to get Keith’s blood sample and closing it again, everyone dispersed. Lance and Hunk staying behind in the infirmary. 

“Man, this sucks,” Lance spat. “We get to babysit Mullet while everyone else is actually trying to help.” 

“Hey man, at least we get to spend time with Keith. I mean we haven’t seen or heard from him in a while.” He stared at Keith’s frozen face, pinched in pain. The purple mark seemed to pulse as it crept a little higher. He had seen the purple veins pulsing more vigorously minutes ago as the helped put Keith in the cryosuit behind a privacy screen. Spidery dark purple veins had spread down Keith’s chest and back looking like the roots of some ancient tree. They had been nearly to his hip then, how far were they now? 

“I still don’t like it,” Lance said sitting in the ring of stairs. 

_________________

Krolia’s head was reeling with the information she had just attained. Keith was a former paladin? Why had he quit? Why was he part of the blades? How did he get out in space in the first place? 

Of a sudden, a growling filled her mind. What the- Her vision flashed red and a wave of impressions filled her senses. Paladin. Hurt. Must. Help. It felt motherly, yet detached. 

Krolia steeled herself and returned the impressions. Poison. Antidote. Quick. Mother. Help. Kit. The presence left her mind, seemingly satisfied. Through all this she had stopped in the middle of the hall and gazed into space, long enough to catch the attentions of her escorts. 

“You alright?” Shiro asked her as she snapped out of her daze.

“Quite.” She replied. The walked on. 

“I can tell you’re worried about him.” Pidge said coming up to walk next to Krolia. “We are too. Have been actually. It’s been months since we saw or heard from him.” 

Krolia looked down at the green clad girl. “You are his friends?”

“Yeah, he used to be the red paladin and then the black paladin for a bit.” Krolia’s eye widened at that. Leader. She clenched the sample blood tighter. He couldn’t die now, she hardly knew him! 

____________________________

Hours later Hunk sat outside Keith’s pod, next to him Lance sat, chin to his chest, sleeping on the job. Hunk dutifully stared down Keith’s pod. The purple had only spread about an inch and was now hovering in the middle of his cheek. 

The door of the infirmary swished open and Hunk turned to look. Allura walked in. She smiled seeing Lance asleep. “Any change?” she whispered.

“Not much.” Hunk replied. The princess sat down next to him. They sat in comfortable silence until the doors swished open again. 

Coran, Shiro, Pidge and Krolia entered. Coran and Pidge looked beat, Shiro a little worse for wear, but Krolia looked alert and steadfast. 

“Did you guys do it?” Hunk asked. Lance jerked awake at the noise and mumbled something about not being asleep. 

“I hope.” Krolia replied. She strode over to her son’s pod. Coran opened the pod door.

Still unconscious, Keith’s pale face was pulled into a look of great pain. Fog from the icy residue billowed about. Catching his falling body once more, Krolia lifted her son into her arms and deposited him on a newly arisen table. 

Now lying prone on the cushined surgical table, Krolia bit her lip and pressed a small circular device to the cut on his neck. 

Ever so slowly, the purple tendrils receded as if being sucked into the device. Keith’s expression relaxed slightly and the group let out a breath they didn’t know they held. Smiles alighted the faces of the group yet Krolia’s remained stoic. 

Shiro stood next to his brother. He reached out and held his shoulder chanting, “come on Keith, you can fight this.” Krolia couldn’t help but notice how much this man looked like Keith’s father. 

The purple had very nearly disappeared when the device began a rapid beeping. Growing faster and faster until it was nearly a constant tone. Keith’s face twisted once again into a grimace, his limbs stiffened and his fingers curled. His back arched off the table and he began to scream.


	3. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can things really get worse for our poor soft boi? Hell yes.
> 
> Woo! Another chapter! Three down, two to go!

Shiro stood next to his brother. He reached out and held his shoulder chanting, “come on Keith, you can fight this.” Krolia couldn’t help but notice how much this man looked like Keith’s father. 

The purple had very nearly disappeared when the device began a rapid beeping. Growing faster and faster until it was nearly a constant tone. Keith’s face twisted once again into a grimace, his limbs stiffened and his fingers curled. His back arched off the table and he began to scream.

 

Chapter 3

A lion’s roar echoed through the castle.

Krolia ripped the device from his neck and threw it in the open cryopod. She activated the freezing sequence.

The explosion happened just as the door closed, freezing the blast mid-boom.

Keith, still screaming, began shaking uncontrollably, the purple marks returning vivaciously and spreading faster. Gathering him up, Krolia summoned another healing pod and shoved him in, sealing her boy once more in ice.

The screams echoed around the cavernous room and they knew they would echo again in their nightmares. Everyone stared in shock, struggling to understand what had just happened.

Krolia explained before the questions even started. “I had to use and unstable element to fix the gaps in the sequencer. It tried to differentiate the poison from his blood but it failed. The resurgence of the poison strengthened it three fold, we have one more chance to extract it before it becomes unstoppable.” 

Her leaderly disposition took over and she began issuing orders. “Coran please administer the solution we mixed in the lab, that should slow the poison’s progress and give us more time. Princess we need to contact the Blades, tell them our mission is not finished. You and you,” pointing to Hunk and Pidge, “come with me to the lab.” 

Lance recovered fastest from the deluge as he, to his great dismay, had been left taskless once again. Indignant he said, “Hey! Why do I get to babysit again?”

Shiro placed his bionic arm on Lance’s shoulder, Lance felt a small shock. "We get to babysit. Sorry Lance, but this is an important job too.” They both gazed up at Keith, concern flashing across their features as the purple on his cheek now looked like a dagger about to pierce Keith’s eye. 

____________________________

Krolia’s face was pinched with determination and fear. Dammit! How could she let this happen!? That device should have worked! Something must have interfered to make it self destruct that rapidly, it should have lasted long enough to expel the poison.

Krolia’s strides were so long, both Hunk and Pidge had to jog to keep up. Hunk threw Pidge a look that said clearly: she means business. 

____________________________ 

Shiro stood statuesque about six feet from Keith’s cryopod, staring it down as if he could stop the poison’s spread by giving it a death glare. 

Coran was just finishing administering the slowing solution, placing it in a pocket of the pod that one could only assume medicated the chilled air, and thus the individual inside. He left to go aid Krolia and the rest soon after.

Lance sat once again, on the stairs, feeling useless. 

After a while Lance started to get bored. “Shiro, how long are you going to stand there?” 

No reply came from him as he continued to stand stoic and unmoving. 

“Uhh, Shiro? You okay?” Lance rose to stand in front of the black paladin, waving his hand in front of his face. Shiro’s fixed eyes were tinted slightly red. 

Breaking his game of freeze tag, Shiro shifted. Paying no heed to Lance, Shiro began approaching the pod, his mechanical hand powering up to the fiery purple glow.

“Hey! What are you-” BAM! Shiro’s elbow collided with Lance’s cheekbone. He was thrown clear across the room, back slamming into Keith’s pod. Which shook, yet it’s passenger remained motionless. A quick look revealed the poison seeping into Keith’s right eye. Mercifully, Lance’s feet caught him and held his weight.

“Stand aside.” Cold and robotic, Shiro’s voice held no trace of the leader Lance had come to know.

He stood straighter, protectively shielding Keith’s vulnerable body. “Shiro-! Snap out of it! Keith will die if he leaves the pod!!”

“That is what I’m counting on.” Lance’s pupils constricted. The hulking form of Shiro towering over him, shadows darkened his face, yet it was the glow of red eyes which scared Lance most.

____________________________

Pidge handed a small screwdriver to Krolia. She was very interested in what Krolia was doing, as she herself was usually the one thinking and tinkering. Keen on learning all she could from the female Galra, while trying not to distract her from saving her son proved a difficult task. 

Hunk, on the other hand, was wishing he could be in the kitchen cooking up a hearty meal he was sure they’d all need once Keith was on the road to recovery. This lead him to think about whether Krolia cooked. This,however, wasn’t the time to ask. 

At last Krolia’s eyes lit with hope. “I think I’ve got it!” 

____________________________

“No. Shiro, I won’t let you hurt your brother!” Shiro’s eyes flickered to their original silver color but as quick as it had come it disappeared. A spark of hope!

Electricity shot through Shiro’s arm and he cried out, grasping his head with his human hand. Lance reached out, only to back away as irritation molded Shiro’s face. His Galra arm swung at Lance, who dodged by a hair. 

His cheek smarted, but he couldn’t dwell on that now, he had to stop Shiro! Luckily Shiro was focused on attacking him instead of Keith. "Shiro, please!"

Zapping crackle, purple streak passed so near Lance’s face he thought he felt his flesh bubble. Okay maybe Shiro coming after him wasn’t so great. Keith was the only one who could match the black paladin! What was he thinking? Gotta save Keith…

____________________________

Krolia full on ran to the infirmary leaving Pidge and Hunk in her wake. The rumbling entered her mind again: HURRY! 

Her pace doubled.  
____________________________

Lance couldn’t fight without a weapon, and even if he’d had his gun it was a long range weapon. Not to mention, could he even shoot Shiro? His idol? To save a teammate, would he sacrifice another?

His movements got slower as he began to tire. Shiro showed no signs of slowing.  
Thinking instinctively, Lance activated an empty pod and moved away just in time for Shiro to drive his hand through the back.

If Lance were faster he may have been able to shove him in and seal it off, yet Robo-Shiro had lightning reflexes. Quicker than he could blink, Lance found himself crumpled on the ground, his leg sporting a cauterized gash.

Next thing he knew, Lance heard a hiss. Thinking it was Krolia come to save them, he looked to the door. 

His heart sank. 

Keith. 

His head whipped round, mind reeling. Keith, Shiro, no! 

Worse than he expected, Shiro had just let Keith drop to the ground, sickly pale face meeting cold metal. 

Blackened veins pulsed with renewed vigor. His eyelids flickered and Lance thought that maybe Keith would wake up but instead it was the dagger-sharp vein of poison finally pervade his eye. The sclera turned the deepest of purple, engulfing the iris and pupil in its inky depths.


	4. Death Throes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! At last, a new chapter! Who's excited for the last season?!

Chapter 4 Death Throes 

Shiro tried very hard to rid himself of the nagging voice in his head. He was sincerely worried for his little brother. His own blood froze in his veins when Krolia had put Keith in the pod for the first time. He couldn’t do much but worry when he accompanied Krolia and the others to the lab. Yet that raspy voice he thought he knew, told him to pay attention to what Coran and Krolia were doing. 

He remembered being in control all the way up until the antidote was placed on Keith’s neck. After that a spark jumped from his arm to his head and all was as if he were sleepwalking. He saw everything he did but in a dream-like haze. 

His body moved to Keith’s side and his mouth formed another’s words. His mechanical arm touched Keith another spark traveled through it short circuiting the device. 

Horrified Shiro tried to wake himself up. No! Keith! What have I done!?

Krolia acted faster than he could process handling the now explosive device. In the aftermath, Shiro felt an irritating wave of disappointment he knew was not his own.

The group disbanded, again with their assignments. He might have thought Krolia looked at him suspiciously, yet she had left him there to watch over her son. 

He nearly broke free when he consoled Lance, yelling desperately for him to hear, but was dragged away from himself again. A foreign feeling of glee pervaded his senses as only one, easily defeated paladin was with him. 

Kuron would make quick work of both of them.

____________________________

Sickening in its black void, Keith’s eye stared at Lance. Barely able to hold himself up Lance returned the stare in horror. Bile threatened to crawl up his throat and paint the floor. He could already feel the acid burn in his sinuses. 

Shaking, he raised a hand to his mouth.

Not-Shiro’s cruel gaze didn’t falter from his target. Lance felt helpless, all he could do was try to distract him, buy time for Krolia and the others to get there. No matter how hurt he was, Keith had to make it! He wouldn’t let his brother kill him! He did the one thing he could think of: swallow his bile and start talking. 

“Hey, Shiro… I know you and Keith are close.” The sharp smell of his melted flesh and salty sweat stung his eyes. “You’re like his brother, man. I only wish I knew you half as well. You’re my idol! But this isn’t you, you’d never hurt him. You’re our space dad! You’re not in your right mind and you’ve gotta fight back!” 

Not-Shiro’s red eyes flicked up to Lance’s crystal blue. His prosthetic twitched. Lance flinched. 

“You snapped out of it for a second before, you can do it again! Save your little brother one more time, you owe him that!” 

The red glow dimmed in his eyes, like a robot powering down. 

Keith groaned, stirring at last, and the moment was shattered. 

Not-Shiro focused on the prone form at his feet. Small spasms blossomed in Keith’s muscles. Each passing tick they grew worse, small groans became shouts and soon, cries.

Lance wasn’t sure whether Shiro had returned or not, his eyes were shielded by his white hair.

He made no moves to help or hinder Keith. 

The door opened so suddenly Lance jumped. Shiro made his move at the same moment. 

Next moment, Keith was raised from the floor with a crushing metal hand at his throat. 

Keith’s cries had stopped, replaced by choking noises.

Krolia nearly dropped her precious cargo in shock seeing her son removed from the pod and dangling from his teammate’s hand. Practiced ease allowed her to assess and act in mere seconds.

Her blaster had fired before the others had even caught up to her. Faster than Lance could blink Krolia shot Shiro in the shoulder of both his prosthetic and human arms and dashed across the room to catch Keith’s, once again, falling body. 

Without preamble, Krolia jabbed Keith in the already bruising, neck with a syringe. An acidic green liquid glowed slightly before the plunger was deployed. 

Shiro lay on the floor metal arm smoking and sparking. Blood coated his other arm, his face was contorted, teeth clenched eyes shut. The red glow behind his eyelids flickering. 

“How long has he been out?!” cried Krolia, whipping her face toward Lance. 

“I- uh- a minute? Two? She spoke a Galran word that Lance knew had to be a curse. Her lithe fingers carded Keith’s hair, he made no more sounds, only lay statuesque in his mother’s arms. 

“What happened here?!” Allura cried. “Shiro! Keith!” In the doorway, looking horror-struck, stood the rest of the team who had finally caught up. 

“Shiro he… tried to kill Keith, and me.” Lance spoke in a hushed voice. Hunk, Pidge, and Coran rushed to his side. 

Krolia was rubbing her son’s arm, taking stock of any further injury. Her eyes made it to his face, following the purple-black veins to the blackened eye. 

She saw her face reflected in it, a mask of fear. 

Another figure appeared reflecting in the eye. A figure with a splash of white hair and glowing red eyes. 

“Krolia! Watch out!” Pidge screamed. 

Not-Shiro lunged toward her and Keith. 

The marmorite blade she had attempted to return to Keith on the ship met her grip. As she pulled it from her belt it transformed into the sword. 

It met with equally hot metal of Shiro’s right shoulder. One simple swipe upward finished the fight before it began. The arm crashed to the floor, the red faded completely from Shiro’s grey eyes before they fluttered shut. His body followed the arm to the floor. 

Krolia hadn’t even started to sweat. Calm as ever, she spoke, “I believe we will be needing three cryo pods prepared Coran.”

 

____________________________ 

 

Lance was the first out, as expected. After being wrapped in a warm blanket and a bit of food goo, he explained what happened, in great detail. 

When his tale was complete, Krolia hugged him. 

At first, Lance was taken aback, but he melted into it, relishing the feeling of hugging a mother, even if it wasn’t his own. 

She spoke softly in his ear, “thank you for saving my son.”

Lance blushed, “really you did all the hard work, I just bought some time.” Krolia squeezed him tighter. 

“You must learn to accept compliments. You did save him, and I am grateful.” Krolia released him and Hunk patted him on the shoulder.

“Yeah man, good job. I wish I’d been here. I didn’t really help that much with the antidote making,” He grinned, “but I can totally cook up some grub, who’s hungry?” 

Lance smiled and looked over to Keith’s pod. His smile dropped. 

“Is he supposed to look like that?” 

Inside the pod Keith’s pale face and neck were still marred with the purple veins. He could only imagine the rest of the marks were still there as well. 

Krolia’s brow furrowed, “yes, unfortunately the majority of the scarring is permanent. The solution I devised merely nullified the poison. It still remains but is quite harmless now. I only hope-”

He can forgive me. 

“What about his eye?” Lance pressed, “will he be able to see?” Pidge and Hunk gasped, Lance had blatantly spoke aloud their fears. 

“We will know when he comes out.” Krolia spoke plainly and without hesitation. 

____________________________

 

It was the third day of Keith’s healing and Krolia was stretching her legs, a small respite from the near-constant vigilance over Keith and Shiro. 

The same force she had felt on Earth those many years ago was pulling her once again toward and unknown destination. 

She met the massive hangar doors. She knew what lay beyond but was unsure what to do when she got there. 

Come in. The voice rumbled. 

She entered and immediately felt smaller than she ever had. The majesty of the great mechanical lions dwarfed her. It felt as if she had entered a great cathedral and five gods stared down at her. 

The yellow and green lion’s eyes gleamed as she cast her eye about. The black lion remained stock still as if it were sleeping. She smiled seeing her old friend, “Hey, Blue.” 

The floor shuddered nearly knocking Krolia off her feet. The red lion’s paw had come to rest right behind her. Apprehensive had no place in Krolia’s vocabulary, she returned the glare she was given, perhaps even more fierce than the giant lion. 

A tense moment where all was still, and then, a small purr. 

It started as a mere house cat purr yet soon morphed into a ship engine rumble. Red rested her head on the ground, allowing Krolia to pet her head. If she’d had a tongue one could bet Krolia would be covered in slobber.

“He’s our cub isn’t he.” Krolia still felt the shame and sorrow of leaving her son, but at least he’d had the red lion as a surrogate mother, for however brief a time. 

____________________________

 

Pidge had one word to describe Krolia: badass.

She seemed to handle every situation with such ease. Her actions, like her conversations were swift and without embellishment. Straightforward, like Keith. It was hard to imagine her as a mother. Pidge’s own mother was a force but she had the social skills and the benefit of not being a warrior in the way Krolia was. 

She tinkered with a few bits and bobs, just thinking. Sitting in the cockpit of the Green lion she half concentrated as she let her mind wander. 

How did Keith take the news? Did he even know or did they have their stupid masks on the whole time? Where did they meet? How long have they been together? What would happen now? Wha— 

Abruptly, her thoughts were interrupted. A resounding crash shook the hangar. Pidge sat up, looking out the eyes of her lion, she saw the most peculiar scene. 

Red was hunkered down, butt in the air, like a cat ready to pounce. In front of her, Krolia stood steady, unwavering. 

After a few tense moments, Pidge heard the rumble of purring. Incredulous, she smiled. 

Pidge had Green lower her to the floor of the hanger. Krolia didn’t even flinch at the sudden noise, but turned nonetheless. 

Her sharp eyes watched Pidge exit her lion’s mouth and cross the vast hangar. 

“You know,” Pidge began, “Red’s pretty picky about people she lets near her.”

Krolia nodded, “I know. She called me here.”

“She probably wanted to thank you, she’s… protective of Keith.” 

Krolia smiled, “I am as well, perhaps between the two of us, he’ll live to see 20.” Pidge chuckled, she hadn’t known she missed this comfortable, motherly presence until now. 

Allura’s voice cut through the castle, “everyone, Shiro is emerging from cryo. Please report to medical.”


End file.
